


Revelation 6:8

by CrawlOutThroughTheFallout



Series: Highway to Hell [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: All The Ships, Dark, F/M, Forgive Me, Gunslinger ftw, Heavy Angst, I will add more as they come to me, Past Rape/Non-con, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Sooooo not cannon, Underage Rape/Non-con, bamf's being bad ass, but this is gonna be a long ass story, i am taking so many liberties with this story LOL, im sorry, revenge eventually tho, so there's that!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-05 17:10:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14623314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrawlOutThroughTheFallout/pseuds/CrawlOutThroughTheFallout
Summary: "Then I looked and saw a pale horse. Its rider's name was Death, and Hell followed close behind."----------------------------------------------------------------------------------“What did you just say?!” She commanded as she shook the startled man slightly, she had clearly caught him off guard.“Just-Just, that I had heard the person they called the ‘Death’ has jet-black hair and eyes so ice cold they could turn you n’ta stone!” the grimy old man answered as he yanked his arm back.“Yeah!” his friend replied, “I heard that they call ‘em that on account of their eyes! They say, once you catch sight of them, it’s already too late for ya! I heard they’re blue’r than the sky when it’s not pourin damn rads down on ya” the second trader added as he clapped his buddy on the shoulder.“Would hate to run into someone like that while ya wander’n round these parts, huh? As if super mutants and raiders ain’t exciting enough.” John chimed in trying to ease the tension a little as he smirked at Daisy.





	1. Chapter 1

   The first time John heard of the “Pale Death” he was leaned against the door frame at Daisy’s shop, being nosey about what the caravanners had brought in to trade. He was only half paying attention until he heard them mention something about several raider outposts being wiped clean, no survivors, no calling cards. The person responsible didn’t even bother to loot any of the bodies, it seemed. What really piqued his attention though, is when they mentioned this ‘wanderer’ rocking a skeleton mask and duster coat. Who the hell did this dude think he is? The image it brought to his mind was one of the old, faded movie posters he had in the Third Rail Bar. A gunslinger from those western type movies. Some vigilante type running amuck around the Commonwealth never lasted long, so as soon as the story commanded his attention, it lost it just as fast.

   John shrugged off the door and was about to leave when he looked up to catch Daisy’s attention, but she wasn’t paying him any mind. He watched as she nodded along to the trader’s story, only half listening to them until something they said struck a nerve. Daisy’s hands stopped picking through the junk on her bar, she stood up straight as she grasped the arm of the man in front of her tightly.

   “What did you just say?!” She commanded as she shook the startled man slightly, she had clearly caught him off guard.

   “Just-Just, that I had heard the person they called the ‘Death’ has jet-black hair and eyes so ice cold they could turn you n’ta stone!” the grimy old man answered as he yanked his arm back.

  “Yeah!” his friend replied, “I heard that they call ‘em that on account of their eyes! They say, once you catch sight of them, it’s already too late for ya! I heard they’re blue’r than the sky when it’s not pourin damn rads down on ya” the second trader added as he clapped his buddy on the shoulder.

   “Would hate to run into someone like that while ya wander’n round these parts, huh? As if super mutants and raiders ain’t exciting enough.” John chimed in trying to ease the tension a little as he smirked at Daisy.

   “You find anything worthwhile, Daisy?” one of the men asked, as he propped his arm up on her bar.

   “Oh, yeah sure. I’ll give you 500 caps for the lot.” She said as she waved her hand above the assortment of junk spread in front of her. To John, that was about 499 caps too much, but Daisy didn’t tell him how to run his town, and he didn’t tell her how to take care of her business.

   “Oh, come on Daisy!” The man she had grabbed earlier huffed as he threw his hands up, “You know it’s worth more than that! I even went through the trouble of getting all that ammo you asked for!”

   “You’ll take the 500 caps I offered, or you can kiss my ass, Moe.” Daisy laughed as she pulled out a bag of caps from under the counter and held it out for him. The man just shook his head as he took the bag she offered, not bothering to count them and turned to his friend.

   “You know Dase, you’re lucky we like you.” The man she called Moe said as he patted the other man on the shoulder, “Let’s go get us a drink, Sully before this old wench sours my mood.”

   Daisy couldn’t help but laugh as she watched the two men leave her shop, and she started to put the random junk from the pile away to their respective boxes in the cabinet that hung above her bar to the right. John stuck around and watched the two men disappear around the corner, his gaze going back to Daisy who had her back turned to him.

   “So, what, you scared this ol ‘Pale Death’ asshole is gonna mosey on up into our town and take us out?” he joked as he leaned his elbows on the bar top, his chin resting in his hands as he watched her work. She paused long enough for John to take notice of it before she continued putting the things away.

   “You know John, that’s the least of my worries. What scares me the most…” she trailed off as she stared at the box of shotgun shells in her hand. “What scares me the most is I think..I think I know exactly who they’re talking about. It doesn’t make sense at all, but I think they might be talking about my daughter.” She quietly finished as she put the shells up and closed the cabinet, locking it with a key that she tucked away in her coat pocket.

   John, caught off guard, choked on his spit for a second before he let out a loud laugh. “Daisy, you can’t have kids, and if you did they would’ve been gone a long time ago. We’re ghouls, in case you forgot to look in the mirror this morning.” He laughed as he stood up and motioned to his face with his hand.

   “Oh, shut the fuck up, John, I’m being serious. You and I both know full and well that family doesn’t end with blood.” She whispered in a heated tone. “Now come on, I’m gonna need a good drink because I know your nosey ass isn’t gonna rest until you hear the whole story.” She sighed as she walked around the bar and held out her hand.

   “You’re damn right, girl.” John replied cheerily as he offered his elbow to her. Daisy just shook her head as she wrapped her hand around his arm, and together they set off for their first stop, the Third Rail.


	2. All that I've got

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'll be just fine, pretending I'm not. I'm far from lonely and it's all that I've got."

   After retrieving several bottles of his top-shelf alcohol, John and Daisy finally made it back to his office. He seated himself on the couch across from the chair she settled in and he began to pour a drink for each of them.

   “Do you have a preference on which you want first, sister?” Hancock asked as he poured himself 3 fingers worth of bourbon.

   “Not really, just whatever is strongest.” She sighed as she rubbed her hands down her face. She had never shared this story with anyone, but she thought if she did, maybe just maybe she would feel a little better about it. She steadily emptied her glass and paid no mind to Hancock, her goal right now was to get drunk enough to let the words leave her, but not drunk enough to be wasted. She found it to be a very fine line to walk. They spent the next hour and a half silently draining and refilling their glasses, neither feeling the need to break their comfortable silence. That was one thing she loved about John, he didn’t need mindless chatter about inane things like most people. He was just as content to sit around and do nothing as she was, it reminded her a lot of her brother back before the bombs dropped over 200 years ago.

   Finally, after taking a long hit from his jet inhaler Hancock leaned his head back and stared up at the demolished ceiling.  “So, a daughter huh?” He asked, trying to find a way to start what was seeming to be an uncomfortable talk. He wasn’t sure what she was so worried about if he was being honest. He had laid everything bare to Daisy over the many years he knew her, hell she had become his closest friend right behind the mean-ass redhead who mooched all of his cigarettes. As much as she pisses him off, John loved Fahrenheit like he would his own daughter, which just brought him right back to Daisy.

   “God John,” Daisy exhaled as she shook her head slowly, “I don’t even know where to start with this story.” She looked like she was almost in tears, which made John wonder if they could even cry anymore, he surely hasn’t since he became a ghoul.

   “Well, how about from the beginning, like any other story of your youth you’d tell me?” He asked as he leaned up, resting his feet up on the coffee table that separated them. He hoped his nonchalant attitude he was putting on would help to calm her down a little bit, make it seem like no big deal.

   “Obviously. Just don’t interrupt me with any questions, okay? It’s hard enough to think about this, let alone tell another person.” She said as she set her empty whiskey glass down. “It’s a long one John, just letting you know now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything or anyone in this story other than my precious gal and her momma(strike this, her mom is now an actual character from Fallout 3 whoops) and maybe a few randoms here and there!  
> Damn you Bethesda and Obsidian for ruining my life and creating these amazing characters. I gain nothing from writing this other than sleep because I lay in bed for hours thinking of this damn plotline. I hope you guys enjoy, and if you spot any mistakes please let me know, I would appreciate any help to not sound like an idiot!


	3. Chemical Prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Watch this rip apart my family, fuck that, I'd rather die with honor. But when the tide is running through me, I can feel no pain. It's not worth the price I pay"
> 
>  
> 
> WARNING:  
> This chapter depicts violent and disturbing themes.  
> Mentions of child rape/non-con and violent/disturbing themes.  
> !!!!please read with caution!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I went back and forth forever on how it write this one if it feels weird to read or anyone has any tips on how to write long drawn out dialogue like this and make it decent please let me know!

   “It all started nearly 10 years ago now, though honestly it still feels like yesterday. I had ended up in a large traveling caravan, there were 9, maybe 10 of us all together with our brahmins. Trekking through the Mojave Desert, we started around what was Utah before the bombs dropped, and we were headed to the New Vegas Strip. John, you would love that place I swear it’s right up your alley.” Daisy said with a small laugh before she downed another glass of the murky brown liquid.

    “We were coming up on this town called Nipton, it had been a shithole when we visited it before, but we had heard someone had come into town and was turning it around. It was nothing but drug addicts and whores, but someone had taken up roots apparently, some doctor type, and was helping the town get back on the straight and narrow.”

    “When we were just a few miles out, we spotted these massive pillars of black smoke rising above the town and I knew then and there that we should just avoid the place. It didn’t sit right with me, and damn I can’t tell if it’s the liquor, but my stomach hurts just thinking about it.” She groaned as she placed a hand on her stomach.

    “One of the men I was traveling with, Harkin, mentioned that maybe it was just a house that had caught fire and they didn’t have the means to put it out. I didn’t believe that one bit, but he managed to convince the others to keep on, so we headed on in. The stench hit us like a damn brick wall, and a few of the women had ended up in the bushes, losing their lunches. The smell of burning bodies isn’t one you forget, it sticks with you forever.” Daisy grimaced as she shook her head. John made a face too, and she wondered if he knew exactly what she meant.

    “We were on high alert, all had our weapons out and ready, but we didn’t see a soul until we made it to the center of the town. On the main strip someone had put up these gigantic crosses and there were bodies strung up on them. It wasn’t until we got a little closer did we realize that some of them were still alive. A few of them had their stomach split open and their insides were spilled over, just hanging like some macabre Christmas lights…The guys went through and granted mercy on the ones who were alive. As sick as this sounds though, it wasn’t the first time we had seen this. This group called Caesar’s Legion led by some old prick had swept through the Mojave and was hell-bent on ‘purging’ the sickness that had infected the land. They were awful slavers, hated women, stole kids from their families and turned them into little soldiers. There was no doubt about who had done this when we saw the red flag hanging from a window on the Town Hall building, it was a bright red flag with a gold bull in the center of it, the Legion’s logo.”

    “We searched a few of the buildings but still didn’t find anyone so they decided that we should pick through the houses and see if we could find anything worth taking with us. A few guys headed into the Town Hall while some stood lookout in case the fuckers decided to come back.”

    Daisy stared at the coffee table in silence for a moment before taking a deep breath, steeling herself to get to the next part of the story. John dropped his feet from the table and scooted up on the couch, so he could lean forward and hear her better, already entranced with the story.

    “I was messing around with this feral dog, feeding it the scraps we had left over from lunch when I heard Harkin scream. I’ve never heard a man sound like that in my life... We all took off running just in case he was ambushed, or something had trapped him but what we found upstairs, none of us could have ever imagined that. The room was painted in blood. It covered the floor, the walls, the ceiling. A few dead bodies laid around the outskirts of the room but in the center lay a woman on her back. She had on a white coat, so we assumed she must have been the doctor that we heard about. I can only imagine how she looked when she was alive. She had long ink black hair that had to have reached her lower back and her features were very exotic, darker skin like she had been in the sun her whole life. Her throat…it had been cut from one side to the other, and her blood covered her head to toe.” Daisy spoke softly as she absently rubbed her collarbone. John wanted to say something, but he could tell she wasn’t here with him anymore, he knew she was back there in Nipton, reliving that moment.

    “There was a little girl laying over her, sobbing. She kept begging her mother to wake up. I don’t know which one of moved first but I ended up next to her on the ground. When I moved to touch her, she cried out and I could see she had been beaten badly, her little dress was torn to pieces. I tried to get her attention by speaking softly but she was so lost in her grief we weren’t even there to her. I touched her shoulder again and she froze for a second, but finally, she looked up at me and those eyes…John her eyes are something you don’t see on just any wastelander. Even though she was crying, and they were red-rimmed and puffy, her eyes were bluer than anything I’ve ever seen. They reminded me of the sky on a cloudless, hot summer day before the bombs dropped.”

    “She looked up at me with those big eyes and I knew that I would do anything in my power to protect this poor child. I sat there with her for a few hours, telling her that her momma was gone but that we would bury her like she deserved. I had worked out of her that her name was Amadeus, Ozzie for short, her mother was a doctor named Catherine, and they had come from a vault a long way away from here. It took me awhile, but I finally got her calmed down a little bit and got her to trust me enough to come with me, so we could clean her up. She told me she couldn’t walk, but I didn’t think anything of it. I just assumed that through everything that had happened that maybe her adrenaline had been coming down and then she’d crash soon. I just picked her up and made it outside to whoever’s cart was the closest and had someone fetch me some clothes that would fit her. When I had helped her out of her dress and cleaned the wounds she had on her back she told me she was hurting. I gave her a small dose of med-x with a stimpack and told her the cuts on her back would heal eventually but she just shook her little head. She told me _where_ she was hurting, and I still can’t stand to think about it to this day.”

    “Those assholes had marched into this town, killed everyone including her mother, they violated this little girl who had no way to defend herself, and then just set fire to it like it was a piece of trash. After I had her set up on a pallet in the wagon and she finally dozed off after the medicine kicked in we decided to stay the night there. You don’t travel the Mojave at night unless you had a death wish, and with everything that had happened that day none of us could even try if we wanted it. I didn’t sleep at all though, I just sat there next to that little girl, my heart ached for her. She never fully woke up, but she did stir a few times making these pitiful whimpering noises.”

    “When the next day finally rolled around I asked her if she had any family that was alive, and she told me she had a father, but that they had taken a Vertibird to get here, and he had stayed at their old home in D.C. So I knew that was out of the question. I gave her the option to come with us and she decided that she trusted me enough to take me up on that offer, not that the poor girl had any choice really. The next few weeks were a blur, but she never really talked to anyone but me and Harkin.”

    “It didn’t take long to realize something was wrong with her mentally, though no one could blame her really. One day she had been walking beside a brahmin playing with a ball we had picked up along the way when she dropped it. She didn’t think twice about running in front of the huge animal and took a dive for her toy when she did a man named Rook that was with the caravan grabbed her by the arm to get her out of the animal’s path. But as soon as his hand touched her she snapped, we didn’t even know what was happening until we heard his scream. She had broken 3 of his fingers just because he had touched her. Thankfully, he was a good sport about it and understood that with her situation that it wasn’t 100% her own doing. It didn’t make sense though because I had touched her a thousand times since she had been with us, and it never bothered her. We first thought maybe it was men altogether, but that theory had failed when Harkin had ruffled her hair one day when she was being a smartass. We figured out then, between us, that it was human touch she couldn’t stand. Harkin was a ghoul too, and it took that for us to work it out.”

    “We spent the next 2 years trying to keep her out of hands way while we traveled. She was about 13 when it all boiled over, though. We had stopped at a smaller town in the desert to trade a few things when she had come up missing. We all were frantic to find her, not just for her safety but for other's sake, too. She was a time bomb, John. The poor thing had no control over it, and in those 2 years, there had been a few more accidents that ended in broken bones. We finally found her behind a building… She was crouched over this boy with her hands around his throat. I screamed at her, yelled, tried everything I could to get her to stop but she was blacked out, wasn’t in control of herself. It took me slapping her across the face to bring her back and when she snapped out of it she was so shocked, and I knew that had broken the trust I had built up between us those 2 years. The boy was alive, thankfully, and we took off like cowards, not saying a word to anyone.”

   “She had trusted me to keep her safe and protected, and I had failed her. She didn’t speak to me for 3 weeks, and finally, when she did she told me that the boy, who was probably close to 15, had lured her around the back of his house by telling her he had a dog who just had babies. When she got there he had hit her across the back of her head with a bar and when she came to he was trying to pull her pants down.”

   “I knew then that I couldn’t keep her with me anymore, traveling around like we were. So, I talked to a few of the others and took on the delivery one of them was supposed to make in a few days up north a little way to a man named Joshua. He was the only person I knew I could trust to take care of her. He lived way far removed from everyone and our caravan swung by his place once a month to stock his supplies back up. He was someone I would have been friends with, before the war. A godly man, with morals that weren’t corrupted by the ugliness of the world that we know. He had ended up in some terrible accident though he never talked about it, and his whole body was covered in burns. He wore bandages that covered most of his body, but as long as you weren’t an asshole and outright said anything about it, he was a very pleasant man to be around.”

   “It took us 5 days to get there, and the whole way I prepped Oz about Joshua, how he would be strict and expect her to pay attention and mind her manners while she was there. She didn’t understand why I was sending her away, and I still think even now, if she really is alive, she probably hates me for it. I didn’t even know if he would take her in, I just prayed my whole way there that he would be able to care for her. She needed someone to force her to be something better, John. I think if she had stayed with me, she would’ve become something to fear. I have no doubt in my mind that she could’ve made the desert fall to its knees.”

   “Thankfully the gods were on my side, and once I spoke to Joshua about her, and what had happened he had agreed to take her in. I kissed her goodbye, and when I left that day I feel like I left a part of me back there. I never felt ‘right’ again, and those 5 days coming back were the hardest. I spent the next few years visiting when I could, and I had been right about leaving her with him, she thrived. She was smart as a whip, had better skill with a gun than anyone I had come across other than Joshua, and had the sweetest, most angelic face you can imagine. When I would go see her she would spend days telling me about the adventures they had gone on, all the wildlife she had encountered, the new languages she was learning. It eased my mind a little to see her so happy. Joshua said she always spoke of someone she called Six but anytime I would try to pry she would just turn bashful and wouldn’t tell me anything. I think she was falling in love, which was cute, but I was concerned. I guess I sort of took up the role of her mother and I still felt the need to protect her, even her heart.” Daisy smiled wistfully as she shook her head a little, looking up at Hancock finally.

    “The last time I saw Ozzie something was off about her, but I left that night anyway, knowing I should stay a little longer maybe ask a few more questions. It was about a year later when the fight at the Hoover Dam happened and I learned all about Courier Six. I was scared to death thinking she had been in that fight. I finally got wind that she had helped secure the victory of the dam and that Joshua had taken off somewhere North, but Oz had not been seen since then. When I went back to the house they lived in it was burned to the ground. The Deja vu was sickening, and after that, I spent the next year and a half making my way here, and that’s that. Been here for nearly 3 years now, and I haven’t heard one thing about anyone that could even possibly be her, until now.”

    “That’s why you freaked when they said something about the eyes, huh?” Hancock asked as he sat back fully, his mind trying to process all of the information she just fed him. He finally understood why she was so worked up about it, though, and he could tell she felt guilty about something.

   “That would make her what, like 20 years old now? Surely this isn’t her going around leveling these raider outposts. I know you said she was good with a gun, but could she be that good?” he asked as he took a long hit from his jet inhaler.

   “Definitely. Joshua told me once she took down a deathclaw by herself. The deathclaws here have nothing on what you see in the Mojave, John. These are tame compared to those. After I got over the initial anger at him for letting her do that, he said he offered help a dozen times, but she never wavered. I know he was being humble about it though because out west they never travel alone, those things are always in packs. I just wonder if she had chanced across a lone one, or if she had taken down more than he was willing to say.” Daisy spoke quietly in awe, and John could tell she was secretly proud of her girl.

   “So, what now?” He asked, “Are you going to pack up and go looking for her?”

   “No, John. The way I see it, if she wants to see me again she’ll find her way to me somehow. I don’t think it was chance we came across Nipton that day. She was put in my path for a reason, and when things like that happen, they always find their way back to you.” She answered as she stood stiffly.

  “I think though, that’s enough talking for one night. My bed is calling me and I’m going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow.” She laughed but it sounded hollow to his ears as she left, leaving John sitting there on the couch to go over the story in his head again and again.


	4. The Devil in I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undo these chains, my friend.  
> I'll show you the rage I've hidden.

   John would be lying if he said he didn’t spend the next 3 weeks searching for her face whenever he left Goodneighbor. He was dying to catch a glimpse of this little hellion in action. He had become obsessed if he was being completely honest, but after weeks and weeks of no news about Oz even being close to his town, he had given up. He knew that Daisy wasn’t lying about her daughter, but maybe she wasn’t this untouchable goddess after all. Maybe the wastes had done what they did best and ate the poor girl up whole?

   Currently, he was lounging on the railing of his balcony, a mentat rolling around in his mouth when he decided to go see Daisy while she locked up shop for the night. He wasn’t sure what his problem was, but here lately he felt a weird, uncomfortable, depression settled around his chest.

   When his eyes spotted a few women huddled together below, clearly drunk and happy a thought ran across him. Maybe he just needed to get laid.. That had to be it. So, on his way to Daisy, he stopped to talk to a few ladies who hung out around the corner and told one that had warmed his bed a couple times to meet him up in his room around midnight that night. She had been more than willing, which wasn’t a big surprise. There weren’t many women who could turn him down when he laid the charm on them. That had to be his problem, though. He had been so wrapped up in this whole business about this girl he hadn’t gotten laid in weeks. He couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t even know this girl and he was already skipping out on the things he loved for her. What was he? Some love drunk teenager?

   After his small detour, he had finally made it to Daisy’s shop and had posted himself against the doorframe. He would just wait for her here, maybe ask if she wanted to go get a drink? They hadn’t done that since she told him about her daughter that night, and that already seemed like ages ago. He missed spending time with his friend, drinking away their problems by the bottle.

   “I’ll be done shortly, John. You here to walk me home like the chivalrous man you are?” Daisy had called out while she sorted the things into their correct boxes inside the shop.

   “Course. Maybe a drink first though?” Was all John replied while he lit a cigarette and pulled a large puff from it. He was about to just go in and help her, so they could be off quicker when the door to Goodneighbor pulled open.

   He didn’t know why but he stood up a little straighter, his stomach doing a weird flip. Now don’t get him wrong, his town was safe. There wasn’t a corner where he didn’t have a tommy gun-toting goon standing up, but it was uncharacteristically late for someone to be strolling into his town. He nearly sputtered on the smoke from his cig when a figure strolled in, armed to the teeth. They were in the full getup too, thick body armor, a large brown coat hung down to their knees the fringe covered in blood and caked in dirt. It wasn’t till he looked up at their face and noticed the cowboy hat and mask did he realize..

 

**_This was her_ **

 

   This had to be her. She had a skull covering her face, that was her m.o. right? Death? Was that a mask, though? It had to be, no one was that sick to wear someone else skull on their face. He watched as she slid her hand up her armor underneath her breast hidden by her coat. When she pulled it away he felt his stomach dip a little because he could see even from where he stood that was her blood. She was covered in her own blood. What the hell happened outside his doors?

   Oz took a shaky step forward, and when she finally looked around she realized he had seen her that she wasn't alone after all, she froze again. Was she not expecting anyone to be here this late? He could easily read the tension on her body, her shoulders stiff as she stood and stared right back at him. It was unnerving.

  “John, what the hell I’ve been calling your name for three min-” Daisy had started into him as she walked around her bar before she stopped too, right next to him.

  He couldn’t even look away from the girl, no.. not girl, _Oz_. She took a few more steps toward them, no longer watching John but trained on Daisy with an intensity that even made him feel a little uncomfortable. Daisy took an unsure step forward, her left hand settling on the gun strapped to her waist.

  “Ozzy?” he heard Daisy speak quietly, her free hand moving up to clutch the collar of her shirt, a nervous habit he had been noticing recently. John knew then that he was right, this was Oz.

  “ _Momma?_ ” Oz replied in a strained voice, filled with emotion. She quickly crossed the space between them before landing heavily on her knees in front of Daisy.

  “Momma!!” she cried out softly when she gripped Daisy’s hips tightly, burying her face into the older woman’s shirt. Daisy gasped out in shock as she knocked the cowboy hat off the girl’s head, her hand immediately removing the skull that covered her face and dropping that to the ground too. John felt like he needed to leave, but his feet were glued to the ground where he stood. He felt like he was seeing something too intimate for anyone else’s eyes. Daisy slid her hand through the young girl's hair, pulling it free from the tie that held it in a tail at the back of her head. Her hair was long, thick, and black as the sky above them. It entranced him, as did her eyes. Her face looked pale, though, much paler than someone should look if they've been trailing through a desert, like he knew she had been. 

  “I need help, momma. I think I’m…I think.. ‘m dying.” Oz garbled out before she turned her face away from her mother, coughing up blood and spitting on the ground next to their feet. It was only a few seconds before the Daisy felt the grip around her waist loosen and then the girl was swaying, falling heavily to her side where John jumped into action. He scooped her up easily before she hit the ground and took off toward Dr. Amrai’s place. He didn’t even bother looking back to see Daisy standing there, dumbfounded. He just took off right across town, clutching her tighter to his pounding heartbeat.

   


End file.
